Save-A Lot

Save-a-Lot is a discount supermarket chain, and subsidiary of SUPERVALU. Headquartered in Earth City, Missouri, Save-A-Lot stores carry most typical grocery products, but they feature considerably less variety than conventional supermarkets. They do offer a good selection of private brands that more than make up the difference.

History
Save-a-Lot was founded in 1977 by Bill Moran as a convenient, value alternative to larger supermarkets. He opened the first Save-A-Lot store in Cahokia, Illinois and remained with the company until his retirement in 2006. Moran oversaw the expansion of his company from one store in 1977 to more than 1,000 locations across the country. He was succeeded as President and CEO by Bill Shaner, then COO of Save-A-Lot. Shaner began his career at Save-A-Lot in 1999 after spending 15 years in the operations division at parent company Supervalu.

In 1978, General Grocer Company expanded the company’s presence in the greater St. Louis market. Eventually, the store network grew to 30 stores by the end of the decade. At the root of company’s growth strategy is its licensee relationship in which Save-A-Lot acts as a wholesaler to its independent store owners as opposed to a franchisor. Smaller, independent grocery retailers soon found the limited assortment model to be an effective defensive strategy against the larger chain supermarkets. With help from new licensees, Save-A-Lot added 50 new locations in the Mid-South region and a warehouse in Jackson, Tennessee in 1980 alone.

In 1983, Save-A-Lot was purchased by St. Louis based food retailer and wholesaler, Wetterau Inc, then owner of current sister-stores Shop ‘n Save.

The next year became the company’s biggest in terms of store growth. In 1984, Save-A-Lot purchased 75 similar format Jewel T stores and two distribution centers from Jewel in Florida and Pennsylvania.

In 1994, both the Save-A-Lot and Shop ‘n Save banners became wholly owned subsidiaries of Supervalu Inc, one of the largest independent grocery wholesalers and the owners of Cub Foods and Scott’s Food & Pharmacy at the time. The acquisition opened up Save-A-Lot’s licensee opportunities to conventional Supervalu supplied operators such as Niemann Foods and many others.

Save-A-Lot moved into Southern California with the purchase of 21 discount grocery Sav U Foods stores and a distribution center from the Fleming Companies in late 1996.

In 2002, Save-A-Lot acquired discount variety store chain Deal$: Nothing Over a Dollar with 45 stores in the Midwest. The typical Deal$ store had a slightly smaller footprint than Save-A-Lot and carried mostly non-food merchandise at dollar increment price points. The Deal$ concept was expanded under Save-A-Lot to 138 stores by 2006.

The acquisition also allowed Save-A-Lot to implement more general merchandise into its grocery stores. The company experimented with hypermarkets which combined the discount grocery and merchandise concepts under one roof. This eventually lead to 480 combination stores that did not carry the Deal$ banner.

Four years later, Save-A-Lot sold Deal$ to variety store rival Dollar Tree for $30.5 million plus inventory. Save-A-Lot has reduced the amount of general merchandise in its combination stores and returned them to its grocery-focused model.

In late 2009, newly hired Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert announced the goal to double the Save-A-Lot store network (to 2,400 locations) within five years. The company would open nearly 100 stores in 2010 with a major focus on the Southeastern United States. Save-A-Lot plans to open a new distribution center in Davidson County, North Carolina in 2011 that will service a portion of the new and existing stores.

Save-A-Lot also entered into a licensing affiliation with notable Hispanic grocer Rafael Ortega to rebrand six former Save-A-Lots in Houston, Texas and South Texas as “El Ahorro Save-A-Lot”. The new stores feature Save-A-Lot product offerings along with more traditional Hispanic staples.

In late 2010, drug store chain Rite Aid became a licensed Save-A-Lot operator when it converted ten of its existing pharmacy locations in the Greenville, South Carolina market to “Save-A-Lot/Rite Aid” co-branded stores. The stores have maintained the traditional Rite Aid pharmacy, but replaced the bulk of its health and beauty general merchandise with Save-A-Lot grocery product including fresh meat, produce, and frozen items.

Save-A-Lot employs a limited assortment concept in its production selection which resulted in an advertised 40% price advantage over conventional supermarkets. The stores generally offer strictly private label product and in only one size. This has resulted in a reduction of SKUs from 30,000 at conventional supermarkets to roughly 1,250. Save-A-Lot does offer national brands from time to time including Coca-Cola, Little Debbie, Banquet Foods, Chef Boyardee, Pringles, Oscar Mayer and others.

The company leverages its store network of 1,200 in negotiating prices with its suppliers. Save-A-Lot contends many of these suppliers are the same manufacturers of leading national brands. In essence, Save-A-Lot shoppers do not pay for the marketing and advertising costs associated with nationally branded products. Save-A-Lot puts its name on these products such as Walmart has done with their Great Value private-label products and also offers a 100% money back guarantee.

A majority of Save-A-Lot stores are owned and operated by independent licensees. Save-A-Lot supplies much of these stores with its exclusive branded products, but the licensed owners have the freedom to sell other non-Save-A-Lot products at their stores. Some licensees have added services beyond the traditional Save-A-Lot model that includes bakeries, delis, liquor, tobacco, money transfers, and fuel services.

After the announcement to double the size of the company in 2009, Save-A-Lot began offering a licensee incentive program to spur growth in its licensed division. Pending financial approvals of each individual applicant, Save-A-Lot offered to provide a minimum of $200,000 in capital assistance per new store. The program began in late 2009 and is in effect until early 2011.

At select races during the 2008 and 2009 Nascar Nationwide Series Save-A-Lot sponsored the #60 Roush Fenway Ford Fusion driven by 2007 Champion Carl Edwards. Save-A-Lot ended its sponsorship of Edwards in 2010 to focus on other marketing campaigns.

Stats:
Headquarters: Earth City, Missouri
No. of Stores: approximately 1,250 stores in the United States (2010)
No. of Employees: unknown
Revenue: over $4 billion in annual sales (2010)
Geography: The distribution of licensed stores is spread across the contiguous United States. Most of these stores are located in small rural communities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Western New York. In 2010, Save-A-Lot expanded its presence into the Caribbean with licensed stores in San Nicolas, Aruba and Roseau, Dominica.
Special Services: Dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, produce, snacks, liquor, general merchandise

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30 Comments

I have been shopping at your Lexington KY at southland store for the past few months and can’t speak highly enough about your employees at that location, They all are very friendly every time I visit. Your prices are good and they have a killer lunch buffet that I have at least once per week. Keep up the good work.

Today I visited the store in Selma, Alabama. I put two jars of peanut butter into my buggy and proceeded to the checkout line. I was the 4th person in line. The cashier waited on the first two customers. She then walked away and never returned. The only other checkout line was backed up into the grocery lines. I waited between 5 and 10 minutes and then walked away.

I cannot believe that Sav-a-Lot is so cavalier about its customers that it would make no attempt to wait on a paying customer. I will think long and hard before I return to that store, Customer service should be customer service, not customer neglect.

If your here to listen then why don’t you give your customers a phone number to contact your main office to lodge a complaint. I have a complaint about your store at 4th and Oregon Ave. in South Philadelphia, and would rather speak to someone than send an e mail Thank you, Peter J Leone Jr

said my comment will not be published …was nothing wrong with my comment except it was negative on products recieved..no bad words and no name calling a good clean letter but negative on the product..included my name andaddress as well.

I bought a box of J Higgs saltine crackers (1 lb box) they were flat I opended each package and they were samething..I was upset because we were having soup…I gave the crackers to the birds I was not driving 16 miles round trip just to get another box of crackers…. best by nov 1814 C B 8 scan code 0 51933 05117 1 bought at Sav-v-lot in Cedartown Ga. 30125,,,,Leonard Faught… 2815 Johnson Lake rd.,… cedartown ga. 30125 thank you

I have bought a bottle of jade dragon soy sauce.. used some few times till I noticed a mouse in the bottom of the bottle.. I feel sickened inside and how dose this happen? Honestly. I have pics and more than willing right share them.. no phone number on bottle. just webs site.. I hope someone calls me after they see this. At 2072671831

I shop at your store #00586 weekly. You have a fairly new employee that is very rude to costumers. She throws stuff in bags and acts like your taking to long to put your pin # in the machine . One time she refused to give a new cashier change from another cash register and was holding up the line. When the girl called the manager after being told to do by the costumers she finely did it. the girl is awful.. I bring my own bags to the store and she just tosses the groceries in the bag. her name is Charm Power. She never smiles and hardly ever your welcome. I will not go the store anymore till I know she is either gone or off work.

I purchased large pkg sirloin chops 3 days ago when I got home & repacked as I split them found one CHOP totally PURE FAT. SO DECEIVING in their packaging rang the store & spoke with meat manager that WAS SOOOOOO INCREDIBLY RUDE.
I’m not sure I will ever shop in yr store again, I shop their to save $$$ on some things I also do a very large amount shopping as part of my job for elderly people that cannot get out. Whatever happened to customer service??????
Sincerely
C W
store I bought from was 24781 on Cleveland ave ft myers fl 33901 please do not send me any links coupons special etc etc as I do not have a printer nor do I have a phone that’s accessed to internet

Buy all my groceries from you and am very pleased with the quality and value. Recently purchased both a gallon and quart of Kurtz apple vinegar which had a funny taste – doesn’t even smell like apples . What has changed? How do I get reimbursed? Thanks.

Why is this buisness cutting there meat in half and charging the same price. Now you only get half of what you normally pay for, Thats just wrong, I think there out doing there name…. Should be pay alot for nothing

Why are you closing our store in Thomaston, GA? They seem to be busy every time I go there,which is very often. I have friends in surrounding counties that come here to shop especially since you closed the one in Griffin. The Griffin area needs some ads to let them know there is a store in Thomaston. You have products that are reasonable and that we can’t find anywhere else. Please don’t leave us without anything except the big pricey stores like WalMart and Ingles. I have talked to many people that are quite upset about your closing. With this economy, we need all the help we can get. THANKS FOR LISTENING

There needs to be a way to search for a certain product on your web site. I got on your site to see if you sold coconut oil cooking oil. There is no place to search for any food. How inconvenient this is. I dont want t o drive 15 miles to the store to check to see if it is available. I also dont want to call the store because it takes 15 to 20 min to get an answer as to whether you have the item or not.

I purchased a bag of J.Higgs Salt&Pepper potatoe chips at your Save-a-lot in Park Hills,mo. and found a hair baked in of the chips this the second time that purchased something from there and found hair in the popcorn is already taken care of but this is getting to be a habit. please respond

You recently put a store here in my town, and you were selling the Chuck wagon bacon by the 10LB box, now because u are a greedy bunch and got a smart mouth store manager you only sell this particular bacon in meat food trays and an extravagant price (.90 cents a pound increase). Therefore you just have now lost my family’s business along with our friend’s business, business from our church, me and my BBQ business that shop’s there with regularity. I will be sure to encourage people to shop at a different store location and different chain like Pigly Wiggly of even better Wal-Marts and Sam’s. So hope you enjoy the lack of return business customers and the loss of faithful customers.

shop at the save a lot on us19 in holiday,but they never any of the stock in, there is never enough products .THey tell you hat it will be in on on day and it never comes in for two or three days later. The shelves are always half empty.IT seems like who eve does the buying and the stocking needs to have some more training on this process.Thi store is one of majore stores in the area since they closed down the loca sweet bay. We need to have this store get it worked out so that we can shop here.

There is a new save a lot store in Wadsworth, Ohio. I go in to buy some fruit, what should be really freash. There was rotten graps mixed with good grapes, and moldy strawberries. It's the same way in Barberton, Ohio. I tried calling both stores, and nobody answers the Barberton phoneline. Wadsworth's phone has been shut off, or is no longer in service.

We do a lot of our shopping at Sav-A-Lot. We have always been very satisfied. Til today. We had a can of Wylwood cream style corn. The taste is fantastic. but my husband found 3 about 1 inch coarse black hair in his corn. He wasn't happy at all. upc code 051933100107

I used to purchase all of your canned goods @ was very satisfied with them until you

changed them to a different food company,now I don't buy any of them.

The brand Billy beans that you carried for many years was my favorate brand of

baked beans, so needless to say I was dissapointed when they were removed from your shelves.I was very delighted to see them return only to be dissapointed again as they are not the same Billy beans as the original.When the 3 cases that I purchased are gone it will be the last Billy Bean in our house.

I purchase your Senora Verde Taco Shells, and have always been satisfied with them. The last box I bought was not very good. Out of twelve tacos, 4 of them were broken in pieces, and I was not able to use them. Is there any way I can be compensated for this. Thank you.